Fraternity and Cooperation

8/6/2019 Fraternity and Cooperation

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FRATERNITY

AND

COOPERATION

IN ISLAM

Translated from the Persian

TEHRAN -IRAN

Presented by www.ziaraat.com


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Revised edition 1403/1983

Seventh edition 1418/1998

Published by:

World Organization for Islamic Services,

P. 0. Box 11365-1545,

Tehran - 15837,ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.



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In the Name of Allah,

The All-compassionate, The All-merciful

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all being;the All-compassionate, the All-merciful;

the Master of the Day of Judgement;

Thee only we serve, and to Thee alone we pray

for succour;Guide us in the straight path;

the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,not of those against whom Thou art wrathful,

nor of those who are astray.

* * * * *

O' Allah! send your blessings to the head of

your, messengers and the last ofyour prophets,

Muhammad and his pure and cleansed progeny.

Also send your blessings to all your

prophets and envoys.



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( WOFIS).



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CONTENTS

List of Transliteration ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 1

Fraternity in Islam ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 13

Cooperation ( muwasaat) in Islam ... ... .... 27



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TRANSLITERATION



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FRATERNITY IN ISLAM

One of the strongest links joining people

together is the relationship of brotherhood.

People love and sympathize with each other and

share in the delights and miseries of their fellow

brethren.

There is the possibility of occasional dif-

ferences between them, but soon it is changed

into love and affection through forgiveness.

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FRATERNITY AND COOPERATION IN ISLAM

As Islam aims at solidarity of society

and strengthening human relations, it has

fostered this relationship and has declared

that all Muslims and believers are brothers

to each other.

Islam regards the Holy Prophet Muhammad

(s. a.w. a.w.) * as the father and all Muslims as

his children; therefore the Muslims are brothers

to each other.

This feeling of brotherhood of Islam

knows no boundary whatsoever, and all Mus-

lims irrespective of their colour, place of birth

and language, are equal and brothers to each

other.

* (s.a.w.a.w.) is the abbreviation of Arabic phrase

sal 'Allahu alayhi waaalihi wa sallam (may Allah's

pcace and benediction be upon him and his progeny).

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FRATERNITY IN ISLAM

The Qur'an dictates

The believers are but brothers to eachother, so make reconciliation between

your two brothers, and fear Allah thatyou may receive mercy. (49:10)

As is evident from History, the pre-Islamic

period was full of hatred, enmity and strife

amongst people. Islam, through its teachings,

infused a new life of fraternity in humanity,thus giving rise to Islamic brotherhood.

The Qur'an again emphasizes this point

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And hold fast all together by the rope

of Allah and be not divided among your-

selves, and remember Allah's bounty on

you, for you were enemies and He joined

your hearts in love, so that by His Grace,you became brethren; and you were on

the brink of the pit of fire; and He saved

you from it . . (3:103).

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FRATERNITY IN ISLAM

Islam has laid down the mutual rights and

obligations of Muslims towards each other and

they are obliged to discharge the same.

al-Imam Zaynu '1-'Abidin (a. s.) * has writ-

ten in hisRisalatu '1-huquq

* (a.s.) is the abbreviation of Arabic phrase ` aalay-hi/

ha/himu 's-salam(may peace be upon him/her/them).

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And it is the duty of your fellow co-relig-

ionists in gereral to have peaceful feelings

amongst them, and to spread the wings of

mercy upon them; to be gentle towards the

wrong doers among them and to reform

them (by earning their love); to be grate-

ful to those who are virtuous in their char-

acter or are generous towards you; because

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FRATERNITY IN ISLAM

their righteousness of character ( without

any apparent of benefits to you) isin itself

a generosity towards you, as they have thus

saved you from their misbehaviour and

spared you the effort of protecting yourself

from them, and kept their troubles away

from you.

Therefore, pray, while you pray, for all of

them and treat all Muslims according to

their proper position. Keep the elders inthe position of your father, the youngers

in the place of your child, the contempo-

raries in the position of your brother.

Thus, treat any of them who comes to you

with grace and love; and convey to your( Muslim) brother whatever is incumbent

on a brother from a brother. (Tuhafu '1-

`uqul,p.195)

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said

The sixth Imam, Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.)

A Muslim is brother of another Muslim,

and he is his eyes (to look through good

and evil) and his mirror (to point out his

merits and demerits) and his guide. Never

does he betray him nor does any injustice

to him nor deceives him nor tells him any

lie nor backbites him. (al-Kafi, vol. 2,

p.166)

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FRATERNITY IN ISLAM

The Holy Prophet said about the mutual

rights of Muslims towards each other

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. . .(A Muslim) must forgive the mistakes

(of his fellow Muslim) and should sym-

phathize (with him) in his distress; should

cover his defects and pardon his slips;

should accept his apology, protect himin his absence (against his backbiters) and

continue giving him good advices; should

preserve his friendship ... visit him insickness ... accept his invitation and gift,

and equally compensate his favour; should

have regard for his affection; talk to himgently ... and love his friends and should

not be jealous of them ... should not

leave him in the thick of miseries and

(lastly) should like for him whatever

good he likes for himself, and shouldhate for him whatever evil he hates for

himself. (Biharu '1-anw ar, Kitabu '1-`ishrah,

vol. 74, p. 236)

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Like for your Muslim brother what you

like for yourself. In the event of need, ask

from him, and if he asks for something give

it to him. Do not be reluctant in doing a

good to him and he should not be reluctantin doing a good to you. Be his support be-

cause he is your support. Protect him in hisabsence and visit him when he is present.

Respect him and have regard for him since

he is from you and you are from him. If

he becomes angry do not break off yourrelation with him, but accept his excuse

instead. If good befalls him, thank Allah(on his behalf ) , and if he is in trouble, rush

to his help. If his enemies deceive or try to

trap him, help him and protect him from

victimization. (al-Kafi, vo1.3, p.170)

The above examples show how Islam has

emphasized the fraternal rights of Muslims.

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COOPERATION (MUWASAAT)IN ISLAM

"muwasaat"means helping brethren in

Islam and extending material support to them.

It has a great importance in religion due to the

reason that it plays a vital role in the better-ment of depressed classes and creates feeling

of love amongst Muslims. It is considered as

an essential virtue of every Muslim and brings

divine blessings in return.

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FRATERNITY AND COOPERATION IS ISLAM

al-Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a. s.) said:

Seek nearness to Almighty Allah through

helping your (Muslim) brothers. (al-Khisal,

by ash-Shaykh as-Saduq, vol. l, p.8).

The Holy Prophet in one of his testaments

to `Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s.) said

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FRATERNITY AND COOPERATION IS ISLAM

al-Waqidi, the famous historian of al-Ma-

mun's period, narrates

"I had two very close friends, one of whom

was a Hashimite. Truly speaking, we were one

spirit in three bodies. Once, on the occasion of

`id (Islamic festival), I was reduced to poverty.

My wife told me that we could face together all

the hardships boldly, but her heart was burning

for the children. They were looking at other

children wearing new dresses and making jubi-lant preparation for id; whereas their lot was

worn and torn clothes. She asked me, if possible,

to arrange some money for buying dresses for

them.

"I thought and thought but could not findany way of obtaining money. At last, I wrote

a letter to my Hashimite friend for help. My

friend sent me a sealed packet containing one

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COOPERATION IN ISLAM

thousand Dirhams. Before I could open the pack-

et, a message came from my second friend with

a request of help, I sent him the same packet

intact and went to the mosque, heart-broken

and depressed, I passed the whole night in the

mosque as I could not bring myself to face my

wife. But when I went home next morning, to

my great surprise, my wife welcomed me with

a smiling face and expressed her unbounded

pleasure for the help I had rendered to my

friend.

"It was then that my Hashimite friend

came to me and asked me what I had done

with the money he had sent me the day before.

I narrated to him the whole story. He bent

his head for a moment, then told me that onreceipt of my message, he had sent me what-

ever he had, but then to meet his own require-

ments he wrote to the third friend for help.

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The third friend sent him the same sealed

packet. My first friend was extremely puzzled

by this mystery, till I solved it."

al-Waqidi further adds: "Then we divided

that amount equally amongst us at the rate of

three hundred Dirhams each, and the remaining

one hundred Dirhams was the share of my wife.

"Caliph al-Ma'mun hearing this unique

story called me, and I narrated the whole event.al-Ma'mun awarded us two thousand Dirhams

each and one thousand to my wife." ( Muruju'dh-dhahab by Mas'udi, Beirut 1966, vol.3,

p.446)

This historical event describes the feeling

of a few Muslims who had learnt their lessons

from the Qur'an. See how the spirit of cooper

ation and fraternity had enlivened their lives

as a result of Islamic teachings.

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The early history of Islam is full of such

events which clearly show the spirit of fraternity

and brotherhood which governed the whole

life of the Muslims.

In the battle of Uhud, which was one

of the most hard-fought battles of Islam, the

Muslims set high examples of self-sacrifice and

many of them were martyred, fighting bravely.

Many of them fell in the battlefield half

alive amongst them were seven stalwarts, fatally

injured every breath seemed the last breath. All

of them were feeling the pangs of thirst. Some-

one came to them with a small quantity of

water, hardly sufficent for a single soul.

The water-bearer offered drink to one of

them but he directed him towards the next

Muslim brother lying by his side. This second

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FRATERMITY AND COOPERATION IN ISLAM

soldier sent him to the third one who directed

him to the fourth; and so it went on till he

reached the seventh soldier. When the seventh

soldier was approached, he told him that sincethe first soldier was very thirsty, he should be

given water first.

The water-bearer then returned to the

first soldier and found that he had died. Then

he went to the second and third who also hadexpired. This happened with each of them, till

approaching the last soldier he found that

meanwhile he also had died. All of them died

thirsty setting excellent practical example of

Islamic brotherhood and self-sacrifice.

This is a lesson from the school of the

Holy Prophet which was followed by his true

followers in every walk of life even under the

most difficult circumstances.

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It is an irony of fate that we have abandon-

ed such spiritual teachings and golden principles

and drifting with the current of non-cooperation

and selfishness which are undoubtedly the gift

of un-Islamic societies. Let us keep in mind thatthis trend is a violation of Islamic idealogy, and

Muslims should never turn deaf ears to the hard-

ships and problems of their fellow-Muslims.

The Holy Prophet said:

One who starts his day without caring

(about) the affairs of the Muslims, is not

a Muslim. (al-Kafi, vol. 2, p.163)

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al-Imam Ja'far as-Sddiq (a.s.) said:

The best amongst you are those who are

generous and the worst are the misers;

one of the most desired deeds is to do

good to Muslim brethren and try to ful.

fil their needs. This deed weakens Satan,safe-guards against the Fire (of Hell)

and leads one to Paradise. ( Amali, ash-

Shaykh at-Tusi, vol. 1, p.66)

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A man approached the Holy Prophet of

Islam and complained of hunger. The Holy

Prophet sent someone to the houses of his

families but, unfortunately, none of the families

had any food.

The Holy Prophet then turned to those

who were in his presence and asked, "Who can

host this man tonight?" al-Imam Ali (a.s.)

offered his services, took his hand and left for

his house.

Then he asked his wife, Sayyidah Fatimah

(a.s.), "What food do we have?" She replied,

"A little provision enough for children only."

`Ali (a.s.) told her, "The guest must be con-

sidered first before ourselves and the children."

Fatimah (a.s.) had to make a great effort

to put her children to sleep since they were

hungry. `Ali (a.s.) offered the guest whatever

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he had, and, pretending to set the lamp right, put

it out; he invited the guest to the food in the

darkness of the room and himself sat there

pretending he was also eating, though, in fact,

he did not take a single morsel. 'Ali, Fatimahand their children fed the guest for the pleasure

of Allah and remained hungry themselves.

Allah praises their sacrifice in these words:

. . . And they give (others) preference

over themselves, even though poverty be

their own lot . . . (Qur'an, 59:9)

Of course, this type of self-denial is not

possible for every one; and only a man like 'Ali

(a.s.) could perform such deeds. Islam, there-

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I direct you to help your brethren who are

the followers of Muhammad (peace be up-

on him and his progeny) and mine, assist

them from the wealth whichAllah has givenyou, fulfil their needs, redress their troubles

and behave with them, with friendship and

love. (al-Ihtijaj, at-Tabarsi, vol.l, p. 354)

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al-Imam `Ali ibn Musa ar-Rida (a.s.) said:

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It is the duty of a believer towards another

believer to have his love in his heart, to

assist him with his wealth, and to stand by

his side against one who does injustice to

him . . . He should never trouble, deceive,cheat, abandon or backbite him, nor tell a

lie to him . . . One who presents a dress to

his Muslim brother, Allah will reward him

with a robe of paradise; and one who lends

money to his Muslim brother for the plea-

sure of Allah, gets the reward of charity inreturn; and one who relieves his religious

brother from pain and distress, Allah will

relieve him of the pain of the next world.

(Biharu '1- anwar, vol. 74, pp.232-233)

Safwan al-Jammal narrates:

"While I was sitting with al-Imam Ja'far

as-Sadiq (a.s.) a Meccan arrived and told him

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that he had no money to return to his home.

The Imam directed me to help that person.

After great efforts, I arranged the fare for him

and returned to the Imam. The Imam asked,

` What did you do about your brother?' 'By the

grace of Allah his need was fulfilled,' I replied.

The Imam said, 'Know that helping a Muslim

brother is more liked by me than doing tawaf

(circumambulation) of the House of Allah for

seven times.' The Imam then added:

"'A man approached al-Imam al-Hasan (a.s.)

with the request of help. The Imam at once put

on his shoes and went with him. They passed

on the way a place where al-Imam al-Husayn

(a. s.) was engaged in - prayers. al-Imam al -Hasan

asked the person, "Why did you not approach

al-Husayn to alleviate your troubles?' He re-

plied, 'O son of the Messenger of Allah, I want-

ed to go to him; but I was informed that he was

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ini'tikaf ( meditation), therefore, I did not

go to him.' The Imam said, Had he got the

opportunity to help you it would have been

far better for him than one month's i'tikaf.' "

(al-Kafi, vol.2, p.198)

al-Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a. s.) said:

Whenever a Muslim fulfils the needs of a

Muslim brother, Allah says, "Your rewardis upon me, and I will not be happy with

less than Paradise for you."(Qurbu '1-

isnad, p. 19)

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A Shi'ah of Kufah (Iraq) named 'Abdu '1-

A'la left for Medina. The followers of al-Imam

Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) gave him their problems

in writing and asked him to bring the replies

from the Imam. Also they asked him to request

the Imam to explain the rights which a Muslim

has upon other Muslim brethren.

'Abdu'1-A'la says that when he reached the

Imam, he replied to all the questions but did not

say anything about the rights of Muslims upon

each other. He went to the Imam several times,

but still there was silence. At the end of his stay

he went to take leave of the Imam and said that

that particular question of that day was still

unanswered.

The Imam said: "I deliberately avoided this

issue." 'Abdu'l-A'la asked, "Why?" The Imam

said, "Because I am afraid that if I tell you the

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FRATERNITY AND COOPERATION IN ISALM

same and you do not follow it faithfully, you

will go against the religion of Allah." Then,

the Imam explained

"Verily, the most difficult of the things

which Allah has obliged his servants to do, are

three things: -

"First, doing justice between himself and

others; it means that he should do to others as

he wants done to himself.

"Second, he should help his Muslim breth-

ren by assisting them with his wealth.

"Third, he should always remember Allah.

And when I say `should remember Allah,' I do

not mean that he should always recite subhana

' llah (Glory to Allah) and al-hamdu li'llah (Praise

belongs to Allah). But I mean that if he intends

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to do an unlawful deed, he must remember

Allah and refrain from that sin." (al-Kafi, vol. 2,

p.170; Biharu '1-anwar, vol. 74, p. 242).

These teachings had such an influence on

the lives of the followers of Islam that their

noble behaviour could not be compared with

any other nation, as we have seen some exam-

ples in the preceding pages; history is full of

stories of such brotherhood and cooperation.

Centuries have passed since the dawn of Is-

lam and the world has achieved what is called

technical and scientific development; but these

human virtues are conspicuous by their absence

in those so-called advanced countries.

One of the writers, writes about mutual rela-

tionship of the Europeans

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"love" and "fraternity" in civilized nations.

"A few years ago, a professor of a German

University, embraced Islam at the hands of the

President of Islamic Community at Hamburg.

After sometime, he became sick and was admit-

ted in a hospital for treatment.

"The President of Islamic Commuity came

to know of his illness and went to see him at the

hospital. He found the professor in a sad and

pathetic mood, and asked him to explain the

cause of so much sorrow.

"The professor, who had not said a single

word yet and seemed lost in his forebodings,

now narrated this incredible story:

"'Today my wife and son came to see me.

They were informed by the officials of the hos-

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pital that I was suferring from cancer. While

departing they told me that since cancer had

brought me at the verge of death and I could

not survive more than a few days, they bid me

good-bye and wished to be excused from visit-

ingme again.' Then the patient continued.

' My spiritual torture and apparent sorrow is

not because the door of hope is shut before me

and I am expecting to die soon; but it is because

of the unjust and inhumane attitude of my

wife and son which is more torturing than the

warrant of death.'

"The President of Islamic Community was

greatly touched by his pitiable condition and

told him: 'Islam has emphasized on visiting the

patients; and I will keep on visiting you when-

ever I get some free time, and will perform my

religious duties.' Thesewords consoled the

tortured professor to a great extent.

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"His condition was fast deteriorating and

he died after a few days. The President of

Islamic Community made arrangement for his

burial according to Islam and some Muslims

went to the hospital and brought the dead bodyto the graveyard.

"While burial was in progress, a young man

in a furious mood came rushing and enquired

about the dead body of the professor.

"'But what relation do you have with the

deceased?' People asked him. `Well, he was my

father and I have come to hand over his dead

body to the hospital, because just before his

death, I had sold his body to the hospital for

thirty Marks.'

"Though he tried to create much trouble,

as the Muslims did not yield, he had to surrender.

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When asked of his occupation, the young man

said that he worked in a factory in the mornings

and decorated dogs in the afternoons."

This bitter incident shows how much theso-called civilized world has become devoid of

human affection and love.

Today, retrogression of humanity from

the view point of moral values and the over-

whelming evils of society cannot be glossed over.Great thinkers, while admitting this bitter fact,

are looking to find a remedy; and are very much

worried because of this undesireable condition.

They realize the malady and appreciate that a

new world can only be created if the present

day lawlessness and permissiveness are removedand the foundation of the new society is laid

upon faith and virtues.

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The people surrounded by this type of so-

ciety admit that their life is an empty one; and

that this kind of living cannot bring humanity

to any good. It will be better for you to hear

this confession from General Dwight D. Eisen-

hower, as U.S.A. President, when he was taking

the oath of his office:

"Our affluent society rests on shaky moral

grounds.We reach the moon and pollute the

earth. We long for peace and go to war. An age

that has split the atom must heal the splits in

humanity. Empty hands must be filled with

work, empty stomachs with food, and empty

hearts with satisfaction. To cure the moral crisis

that blights our world, each of us need only

look to ourselves. If we each listen to the stillsmall voice of conscience we shall soon perceive

that simple basic things, like goodness, purity,

unselfishness, love, integrity, are our greatest

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Fraternity and Cooperation